user locations: pete_nice
uss pueblo
from north korea, totalitarianism posted in history by pete_nice
The USS Pueblo started life on the shores of Lake Michigan, at the Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, on April 16, 1944.
After several twists and turns, she found herself as a "spy ship" hovering around the Tsushima Strait in the Sea of Japan. On January 23, 1968, the North Koreans attempted to assassinate the president of South Korea. Feeling a bit overzealous, they sent a sub out to capture the Pueblo as well.
For 11 months, 82 crewmen were held in captivity. They were subjected to a show trial and found their images used for propaganda, so they constantly gave the middle finger to the camera, telling the North Koreans it meant "Good Luck" in Hawaiian.
The crew was released in December of 1968. Today, the Pueblo is moored in the Potong River in Pyongyang as a museum ship against the imperialist capitalist overlords.
Currently, it is the only US Navy ship commissioned that is being held captive.
wreckage of u-2 spy plane
from the cold war posted in history by pete_nice
On May Day (May 1) in 1960, Francis Gary Powers was flying a mission in a Lockheed U-2 spy plane when a series of missiles brought down his plane near Svedlovsk. The plane crashed but was not destroyed, and and a sensationalized trial led to Powers being convicted and sentenced to 3 years of prison and 7 years hard labor (he was traded for a Soviet spy after 21 months).
Today, the wreckage of the U-2 can be viewed at the Central Armed Forces Museum (formerly known as The Museum of the Soviet Army).
We'd like it back now, please and thank you.
durham county courthouse
from civil rights movement, american civil war posted in history by pete_nice
Outside of the Durham County Courthouse, a statue was erected by the Daughters of the American Confederacy in 1924 to celebrate the soldiers of the Confederate South during the American Civil War.
The statue just kind of loomed there, in front of the institutional housing of regional justice, until August 14th, 2017.
On that day, a group of activists reacting to the events of Charlottesville, VA a couple days prior, took it upon themselves to remove the monument.
From The Atlantic: "In what might seem a blunt metaphor for the fate of Confederate symbols in progressive Southern cities like Durham, the statue tumbled down with barely any effort, crumpling at the feet of its imposing granite pedestal."
commander islands
from stellar’s sea cow, extinction posted in history by pete_nice
Measuring up to 30 ft long and weighing 8.8-11 short tons, Stellar's Sea Cow was "discovered" in 1741 by the Bering expedition at this location (the only confirmed area where they were ever seen).
A relative of the manatee, the massive sea mammal was a slow-moving and social creature with no teeth (just keratinous plates). True to form, the gentle creature was hunted to extinction by 1768.
Great job, guys.
mount washington
from clock of the long now, jeff bezos posted in technology by pete_nice
"I want to build a clock that ticks once a year. The century hand advances once every 100 years, and the cuckoo comes out on the millennium. I want the cuckoo to come out every millennium for the next 10,000 years."- Danny Hill, The Long Now Foundation
The Long Now Foundation purchased the 180 acres of Mt. Washington in Eastern Nevada, just off of Great Basin National Park, in 1999. The group's intention is to complete a large scale project that encourages long-term thinking.
A prototype of the project is currently being constructed in a mountain on Jeff Bezo's Corn Ranch in West Texas.